PBC and Glenstal Come Through Quarters
6th February 2008 By Munster Rugby
In the Avonmore Milk Munster Schools Senior Cup quarter finals Presentation Brothers College defeated St. Munchin’s College 12-6 at Musgrave Park with Glenstal Abbey School claiming a 6-5 victory over Crescent College Comprehensive in Clanwilliam
Presentation Brothers College 12-6 St. Munchin’s College
Glenstal Abbey School 6-5 Crescent College Comprehensive
The line ups for the Avonmore Milk Munster Schools Senior Cup semi finals have been decided after defending champions Presentations Brothers College’s remained on course to defend their title with a 12-6 victory over St. Munchin’s College at Musgrave Park. In Clanwilliam, an injury time penalty kick saw Glenstal Abbey School clinch a semi final place with a 6-5 win over Crescent College Comprehensive. The semi finals will see Presentation Brothers College play Castletroy College with Glenstal Abbey School taking on Christian Brothers College.
On a crisp but refreshingly dry day in Musgrave Park, PBC’s first half tally of 12 points was enough to see them through to the next round. St. Munchin’s started brightly, with a piercing run from winger Craig O’Hanlon in the opening minutes showing the Limerick side’s intent. The direct running lines of St. Munchin’s proved difficult to contend with in the opening stages, with PBC forced to defend all over the pitch. After 8 minutes PBC had an opportunity to open the scoring when a penalty was awarded just outside the 10 metre line. Outhalf Cormac O’Flynn’s effort had the distance but went just right of the posts. Two minutes later opportunistic PBC scrum half David O’Driscoll sneaked through to score under the posts after a scrum on the 22 disintegrated. O’Flynn converted to give PBC a 7-0 lead. Munchin’s responded immediately, taking play to within 5 metres of the PBC line after some trojan work by the pack, however a dropped ball close to the line relieved the pressure for PBC. Seventeen minutes into the game O’Flynn chanced a drop goal but his effort steered right. The second quarter saw PBC look more in control and Brian O’Hara extended their lead to 12-0 after 31 minutes with a try in the corner which they held onto at the break. St. Munchin’s came into the second half with a renewed sense of purpose and although second row Michael Madden’s penalty attempt at goal on 37 minutes missed its mark, he made no mistake three minutes later as he scored St. Munchin’s first three points. Buoyed by the score, St. Munchin’s kept play inside the PBC half for the first 20 minutes of the second half. Despite a missed penalty kick after 60 minutes, Munchin’s rallied for the closing stages of the game. Replacement Keith McManus looked like he would break though the PBC line with his first touch of the ball after coming on, and although he was stopped, an infringement at the breakdown saw Munchin’s awarded a penalty which enabled Madden to add another three points on the board. As the game went injury time St. Munchin’s launched an all out attack as they sought to score a converted try. Winger Craig O’Hanlon looked set to cross the line in the dying seconds but for a try saving tackle by his opposite number Johnny MacCarthy. Presentation Brothers College held on to claim the win, and set up a semi final date with Castletroy College.
Wednesday’s clash at Clanwilliam proved to be another nailbiting clash that went down to the wire, with Glenstal Abbey School claiming a famous win after an on target penalty kicked in injury. The sides remained close throughout, neither willing to concede a metre without fighting tooth and nail. Crescent College Comprehensive were the first to put points on the board with a try in the tenth minute from winger Mark Doyle giving them a 5-0 lead. Glenstal Abbey School clawed back three points after 17 minutes with a successful penalty kicked by out half Mike O’Flynn, and with no more scores in the offing during the first half, at the break Crescent led 5-3. A rejuvenated Glenstal took hold after the restart, and started to extend more control over the game, continuing to test a rock solid Crescent defence throughout the half without managing to put points on the board. Just before full time Crescent had the opportunity to put some distance between themselves and Glenstal when a penalty kick was awarded, however Mark Doyle’s effort didn’t find its target, leaving it all to play for in injury time. The composed Mike O’Flynn proved the hero for Glenstal when he landed a successful penalty kick during injury to clinch a famous one point victory. It’s the first time that Glenstal Abbey School have reached the semi finals since 1999, and Glenstal now have last year’s beaten finalists Christian Brothers College ahead of them in the next round. Glenstal will be familiar with the Cork side as the two sides faced off in last year’s quarter final and CBC claiming a 13-6 win on that occasion. The semi final will no doubt see the Limerick side looking for amends and continue on their hunt for the Senior Cup title.
Avonmore Milk Munster Schools Senior Cup Semi Finals
27th Feb 2008- Presentation Brothers College v Castletroy College– venue tbc
2nd March 2008- Glenstal Abbey School v Christian Brothers College – venue tbc
Glenstal Abbey School
15. Ben Bradley, 14. Dan Costello, 13. Finbarr Kearney, 12. Cathal Hughes, 11. Arran Duff, 10. Mike O’Flynn, 9. Jamie Hunt, 1. Duncan Casey, 2. JJ Clarke, 3. Owen Grennan, 4. Chris O’Connor, 5. Theo Lambton, 6. Rory Madden, 7. Brian Costigan, 8. Daniel Heffernan
Replacements: Raymond Fullam for Costello (40), Shane Cosgrove for Lambton (B/S 55), Ross Ferrara for Kearney (55), Paul Mullen for Madden (60), Peter Lynch for Grennan (64)
Crescent College Comprehensive
15. Eoin O’Toole, 14. Finbarr Aherne, 13. Glen Robertson, 12. Ben Sergent, 11. Mark Doyle, 10. Ian Cross, 9. Sean Upton, 1. Cathal O’Connor, 2. Ronan Costello, 3. Jack Flannery, 4. Shane O’Carroll (Captain), 5. Brian Downey, 6. Luke Russell, 7. Eoin Reidy, 8. Ivan Sherloch
Replacements: 16. James Long, 17. Aran Healey, 18. Evan Healey, 19. Chris Gleeson, 20. Gavin Fleming, 21. Paul Canty, 22. Ger Horan
Presentation Brothers College
15. Gavin Nugent, 14. Johnny MacCarthy, 13. Conor Desmond, 12. Conor Fitzgerald, 11. Simon Zebo, 10. Cormac O’Flynn, 9. David O’Driscoll, 1. Bryan Cagney, 2. Peter Kelleher, 3. Patrick O’Donovan, 4. Daniel Lucey, 5. Joseph Coyne, 6. Conail Murphy, 7. Brian O’Hara, 8. Peter O’Mahony (Captain)
Replacements: Chris Hartnett for Kelleher (16), Eoin Murphy for Desmond (35), Ian Mullarkey for Cagney (B/S 69), Rory O’Donovan for Coyne (65)
St. Munchin’s College
15. Declan Browne, 14. Craig O’Hanlon, 13. Cathal O’Neill, 12. Danny Barnes, 11. Gareth O’Hanlon, 10. Michael Kelleher, 9. Robert Guerin, 1. Ciaran O’Regan, 2. Darren Kavanagh, 3. Graham Bolger, 4. Sean Duggan, 5. Michael Madden, 6. Podge Cleary, 7. John Sherin, 8. Gerard Bourke (Captain)
Replacements: Ciaran O’Hanlon for O’Regan (62), Paul Loughran for Sherin (62), Keith McManus for Browne (65), Brian Morrissey for Cleary
Referee: Trevor Collins (MAR)
